After saying this, Yūki Asuna herself was somewhat surprised. She looked at the hideous blood-face pressed against the observation window and spoke tentatively.
"So... it's not trying to get in, but actually wants us to open the door and hurry up and leave this place?"
"Exactly! Look here..."
Asagiri raised his hand, pointing at the gruesome blood-face, and said with an amused tone:
"Look how anxious this fellow is! He's actually here for a Martian-style rescue operation for us! And..."
Here, Asagiri paused slightly before continuing.
"Judging by its appearance... it's definitely not alive. Based on the hint's use of the word 'Careworker,' I deduce that this is the ghost, evil spirit, or residual resentment left behind by a 'Careworker' who died after encountering something in this sanatorium. Its anxious behavior, urging us to leave, also confirms your earlier guess: In one hour—no, there are only about fifty minutes left now—some kind of anomaly will occur in this sanatorium. At that point, no one will be able to leave."
"G-ghost... a ghost?"
Yūki Asuna's face paled slightly, and her voice began to tremble.
"Are ghosts really real?"
"Whoa, what a fresh idea."
Asagiri said nonchalantly, "Since something like suddenly appearing in a completely different location can happen, the existence of creatures like ghosts and evil spirits isn't surprising, is it? Besides, this might not even be the world we originally came from."
Then, without waiting for Yūki Asuna to speak, Asagiri suddenly changed the subject.
"However, no matter how much we analyze or deduce, there is only one way to verify if our conjecture is correct: that is to open the door and walk out. If our deduction is wrong, we will likely be attacked by the thing outside the moment we open the door. So the question is, which one of us is going to open that door?"
Hearing this question, Yūki Asuna looked once more at the hideous blood-face outside the observation window, and fear gripped her heart.
He was right.
No matter how many inferences were made, or how much information supported them, ultimately, who could guarantee that the result they deduced was definitely correct?
There was only one way to verify it, and if the deduction was wrong, the consequences were obvious.
If the person opening the door saw the "Careworker" become aggressive and quickly slammed the door shut, the person remaining in the room might still have a chance to survive.
Truthfully, Yūki Asuna was scared. She didn't want to face the grotesque, blood-faced monster, nor did she want to die. She desperately wanted the other person to open the door and verify their hypothesis.
But...
Why should he?
During the analysis process, this mysterious person calling himself "Houseki Yōmei" was the leader. She merely followed his line of thinking and offered a deduction that any normal person could come up with. Now, to ask him to risk his life to open that door and confront that terrifying monster?
Despite her fear and terror, Yūki Asuna did not believe that she, as a "Player," had the right to demand that another "Player" bear all the risk for her.
"I... I..."
Yūki Asuna took a deep breath, her hands involuntarily clenching into fists.
"I will open the door. If I am attacked, I will do my best to push the one outside away, and you should use that opening to close the door again."
Hearing this, Asagiri didn't hesitate and immediately cleared the path to the door, even making a gesture of invitation.
"Oh, that's excellent! Madam Yūki Asuna's sacrifice is deeply admired by me. I am a gentleman, so please, ladies first."
Seeing his movements and hearing his words, Yūki Asuna was momentarily at a loss for words.
It was her decision to open the door, yes, but...
Isn't he being a little too unreserved about it?
"You really are a strange person..."
Yūki Asuna said helplessly as she walked toward the door.
When she reached the door, she looked at the hideous blood-face outside the observation window. Because of excessive nervousness and fear, she felt her limbs becoming numb and her mind was nearly blank.
In the dead silence, Yūki Asuna slowly reached out with her trembling right hand and grasped the rusty doorknob.
Just as she finally steel herself and began to turn the doorknob, her wrist was suddenly grabbed by Asagiri beside her.
"Alright, that's enough."
"Huh?"
Before Yūki Asuna could react, Asagiri had already stepped to the door, carrying the chainsaw in one hand. With the other hand, he grabbed the doorknob and, without the slightest hesitation, threw the door open, even laughing easily as he said:
"Here comes the Chainsaw Man!"
Click.
Asagiri pulled the door open, and the sight that greeted them made Yūki Asuna feel as if the blood in her entire body had frozen.
Only then did she finally get a clear view of the grotesque blood-faced monster.
The creature was wearing tattered, blood-stained, and soiled light-blue work clothes, and it had something resembling an employee badge on it. Most importantly, the blood-faced monster's posture was incredibly strange: its body was not standing upright, but was hunched over like an elderly person, trying hard to press its face to where the observation window had been.
When Asagiri opened the door, the blood-faced monster slowly straightened its body. At this, its head nearly touched the hallway ceiling. Yūki Asuna roughly estimated its height to be close to three meters.
Faced with this exaggerated sense of towering oppression, Yūki Asuna's breathing instantly halted.
The very next second, this oppressive atmosphere was instantly shattered.
"Excuse me, please move aside~"
Asagiri's tone was still easygoing, seemingly without any fear in his heart, even when facing the three-meter-tall blood-faced monster.
What Yūki Asuna didn't expect was that after he said this, the towering, grotesque blood-faced monster actually stepped back a distance, clearing the doorway.
"Why are you still spacing out?"
Asagiri stepped out of the room, then turned back to look at Yūki Asuna, who was still standing inside, urging her.
"Time is precious; it might affect the evaluation and rewards given after clearing the instance. So hurry up and let's go."